Say's Phoebes

Adults have brownish-grey upperparts with an orange-brown belly and light grey on the throat and breast. Juveniles have cinnamon wing bars; adults have no wing bars.

Their breeding habitat is dry open or semi-open areas across western North America from Alaska to Mexico, including towns. They make an open cup nest in a natural or man-made cavity or on a ledge. They lay 3-6 eggs per clutch and incubate them for 12-14 days. The female Say's phoebe inucbates the eggs exculsively but both parents may feed the nestlings. The nestlings fledge 14-17 days after hatching. These phoebes may reuse their nest for another clutch in the same season or pick a new nesting site.

These birds migrate to southern Mexico. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range.

They wait on a perch on a shrub or rock and fly out to catch insects in flight, also foraging by hovering over fields. They sometimes eat certain berries.

The song is a quick pit-see-ar. The call is a whistled pee-ee. These two vocalizations are often heard in incessant alternation.

The numbers of this bird are declining, probably due to loss of habitat in its winter range.

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